Astonisher Vol. 1: The Enemy Within

Astonisher #1

by Alex de Campi, Pop Mhan (Artist)

Magnus Attarian, heir to the AtiSat Corp., tried to save the world and ended up a broken man. Now a celebrity joke suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Magnus has the power to travel inside the minds of superpowered people, where he discovers nightmares threatening the entire human race.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2018

About the author

Alex de Campi is a New York-based writer with an extensive backlist of critically-acclaimed graphic novels including Eisner-nominated heist noir Bad Girls (Simon & Schuster) and Twisted Romance (Image Comics). Her most recent book was her debut prose novel The Scottish Boy (Unbound). She lives with her daughter, their cat, and a Deafblind pit bull named Tango.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very two dimensional, unlikable character gets the power to go inside the minds of those who were corrupted by the meteorite from the Catalyst event. Nothing in this book is fleshed out enough for my taste. It just gets a mention, then dropped. Magnus creates a suit powered by the meteorite to use his powers. How much of this meteorite does he have sitting around, because it crumbles to dust after each use. The premise is very convoluted with a conspiracy angle that I don't really care about because it makes little sense, especially in the larger world of Catalyst. Why are there all of these crazy meteor-affected people only in this book? Shouldn't they pop up in the other books as well? Pop Mhan has changed his style for this book. Gone is the cartoony, anime influenced style he's known for, replaced with a traditional "house" look.

[Alex Sarll]

On the one hand, this deals with mental health in a way I don't recall seeing in superhero comics before, showing in all their infuriating cluelessness things such as the suggestion, when someone is wiped out by new meds, that maybe they should just get a bit more exercise. And de Campi’s way with dialogue is mostly on its usual fine form, like Warren Ellis in less of a rut. But on the other, the hero’s power is perhaps too specific to maintain variety long-term (in short: when the same event which empowered him causes other people to become deranged monsters instead, he can fix them via dream-battles, though he still needs physical proximity first). And more than that, it’s part of the Catalyst Prime line, which despite mostly using good and underrated writers already seems tainted by that faint suggestion of awkward overreach that attends the company-driven launch of a whole new superhero universe, as opposed to one which branches naturally from an initial hit book.

[Don Massi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. Weak characters I couldn’t identify with. Overly complex super powers that just made me not care how they worked. It just didn’t inspire me to get the next volume.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's the thing. I really want to like the Catalyst Prime line. Despite the hullabaloo they're not the second coming of Milestone, but they are a nice, and arguably distinct voice, in offering diversity in the medium. And, and emphasis on science, or science fiction, instead of fantasy in their line is much appreciated.

But, as collections go, sticking to this four issues per trade (reading the single issues digitally, posting reviews under the trade), is too little story. I'm not about to give up on the whole line, but this is one of those titles that would benefit from more story before collecting in TPB format.

The positive is that the end of issue four does feel like a chapter break, for want of a better explanation. We have hit a certain point in Magnus's character, and where he and the story next need to go. After all, this is arguably a super hero/comic book take on Ted White's Doc Phoenix (and if you get the reference you're either ancient like I am or enjoy obscure action/adventure fiction).

But, maybe this is part of the rush to get in these into TPB, there is very little characterization. We know Magnus has family and girlfriend issues, and that he is possibly dying from his exposure to the meteor a year ago.

But, other than being rich, and possibly ADD, what drives this character. even for two dimensional comic book characters is what helps keep the reader vested if they understand or share the character's goals (see Noble and Superb from the same publisher where this is achieved to a better degree).

Not quite ready to give up on the title, but inching there.

[La Nave Invisible]

Hace poco me encontré en la situación de ver que Gail Simone hablaba por Twitter de uno de sus nuevos proyectos: el ser la arquitecta del Universo Catalyst Prime de la editorial Lionforge. Y claro, cuando te presentan un nuevo universo lo normal es irse al principio (excepto si estás intentando entrar en Marvel o DC porque… te vas a uno de los reinicios y sin problemas). Pero este tenía pocas obras todavía, lo que facilitaba que me diera por leerlo todo. Además, lo mejor es que la obra que pone en marcha todas las colecciones, el evento original, es gratuito.

[...]

La otra colección que lleva una guionista, Alex de Campi, es Astonisher, que se aleja bastante de lo que es Summit, partiendo del protagonista (que es una especie de Tony Stark torpe, ya que lo primero que hace es estrellar su nave contra el meteorito y que trozos de este se le incrusten en el cerebro) y llegando a los temas centrales de la historia. Los primeros dos tomos los escribe Alex de Campi, a partir del tercero cambia el guionista. El caso es que Magnus, que así se llama el protagonista, descubre que tiene poderes cuando está cerca de meteoritos y eso le permite entrar en la cabeza de seres humanos que tienen problemas mentales y un parásito muy feo que les cambia el cuerpo. Él decide ser un héroe porque, sinceramente, necesita la adrenalina. Pronto vemos que uno de los focos de la historia va a estar en los problemas mentales y en la forma de acercarse a las distintas situaciones vitales al respecto. Así, desde la agorafobia y los problemas de su cuñada hasta la forma en que tras curar al parásito de los demás ve sus problemas mentales y tiene que actuar al respecto (con mejor o peor suerte), vemos la historia de un hombre que, tras llegar a lo más hondo, intenta construir un mundo mejor.

Continúa en... https://lanaveinvisible.com/2019/06/1...

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going forward with the Catalyst Prime Universe in spite of horrendous Accell and horrendouser Incidentals. This time, Astonisher was a nice book with a main character rich enough to keep me going.
There’s a chance the stories could become repetitive with Magnus travel’s into the possessed minds. But so far, so good. It’s up to the creative team from now on, that the setting has been established.
I really like Magnus’ environment. His toxic family, his odd relationship, and his assistant. It’s not really the usual stuff and it’s fun to watch.
At times Magnus makes me think of a younger Tony Stark, you know, the money, the drive, the attitude and the obsessions, but that’s not really a bad thing. It works.
Let’s see how vol. 2 fares.

[Jeffrey Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only astonishing thing about this is how inept it is. Unlikable characters, unexplained objects appearing out of nowhere (phone in prison)… it’s no wonder catalyst died out.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book filled with entirely unlikable characters almost, but not quite, redeemed by an attempt to take a thoughtful look at mental illness.